Boston's Frequently Asked Questions About Shutters

For more than 32 years, we’ve been asked every question about shutters you can think of from our customers in Boston. And we’ve put together the top ten of them here. Perhaps in these questions and answers you’ll find answers to questions of your own. If not, please don’t wait to contact Sunburst Shutters Boston directly. We’re here to help you and happy to do so.

That hinges on how you would like the shutters to relate to your home’s décor. Do you want a shutter that contrasts your wall paint color and has clean lines? Polywood® plantation shutters are ideal for you. Or are you looking to match the wood in your home as closely as possible? Ovation® wood shutters are the ultimate fit for you.

Plantation shutters are recognized for being energy efficient. And to get the most energy savings, our Polywood Shutter Insulation System is the only choice.

For the budget-conscious, blinds are a temporary window treatment to cover your windows. They are susceptible to deteriorating over time with the strings giving way and the loops that hold the slats in place falling apart. In addition, they might be troublesome to clean.

Shades offer a variety of colors and unique patterns, turning your window into artwork. By simply pulling up the fabric of the shade, your full window is exposed and you can see out onto your Boston neighborhood.

Draperies also offer a wide variety of color, fabric, and patterns. They are a traditional choice for a window treatment. Adding thick panels between the drapes and the window allows for light and temperature block-out capabilities. And unlike other window treatments, there’s no need to clean draperies for five years.

If you want a window treatment that lasts more than 10 years, saves you real dollars on your energy bills, and looks beautiful on your windows, shutters are the choice for your home. Not only are shutters durable, but they’re also exquisite and energy efficient. In fact, Polywood shutters insulate up to 70% better than a similar wood shutter. That’s energy savings you will miss out on with any other window treatment.

When it comes to control over privacy and light, plantation shutters are unmatched. And with their large louvers, Polywood plantation shutters give your space a clean in vogue feel whether they’re closed or open.

An improperly installed window treatment can be challenging to open and can get damaged easily. We have an expert installation crew that comes to your home and installs your window treatment precisely, making sure that each one moves flawlessly – and doesn’t get damaged in the process.

But before we start installing your shutters, we bring shutter samples to your home so we can custom craft your window treatment together. Learn more about our free in-home consultation.

Your plantation shutter slats – or louvers – can be moved simply by pushing them up or down. Usually, a tilt rod mounted on the front of the shutters gives you control over the louvers. To move the louvers with your hand, we recommend buying shutters with hidden tilt-rods or rear-mounted tilt rods. This gives your shutters a clean, contemporary feel.

Our Polywood shutters last more than 50 years – more than any other shutter around. That’s why these plantation shutters are a permanent fixture that increases your home’s resale value. Learn more about the durability of our shutters.

Plantation shutters are simple to clean because they have large louvers and their tilt bars are either hidden or mounted on the rear. Just tilt them open and dust them like furniture – or wipe smudges with a wet cloth.

Plantation shutters are custom fashioned to fit your windows perfectly. They become a permanent fixture of your home, boosting its resale value. It’s not possible to move these shutters from one house to another.

Plantation shutters are an investment that allows temperature control, energy efficiency, and privacy. They are custom fashioned and installed on your windows to become permanent fixtures. Not only are they beautiful and energy saving, but plantation shutters also increase the value of your residence. We’ve seen it first hand in Boston!

A half shutter lets you have privacy on the bottom and leaves the top open for light and view. It’s called a café style shutter. But is it the ideal look for a plantation shutter?

Cafe Shutters Cafe Style Shutters With Divider

In the end, it’s a style choice – whether you like the look of a half shutter or that of a plantation shutter with a divider rail.

A full length shutter with a divider rail “completes” your window, giving it a well-rounded look – and giving you the option to close the bottom louvers for privacy while leaving the top louvers open for light. At night, you can close the top louvers as well for privacy and security. This also comes in handy during the day when the sun is hindering you from watching TV. And don’t worry about forgoing any of your view. A 3.5" or 4.5" louver will almost disappear when opened flat and gives you plenty of space to look through.

Piece of cake! Call us at 781-352-2205 or fill out the form below to schedule your free in-home consultation, and we’ll handle it from there. We come out to your home to measure the windows you want to add shutters to and bring samples of all of our shutter products and their available options. Once you’ve selected a shutter that matches your style, we can provide you with the appropriate shutter price for your project. Schedule your in-home consultation today!

Yes! There’s a need to get rid of or make alterations to your old window trim when installing new plantation shutters. Natural Ovation wood shutters and premier Polywood shutters are offered in a variety of frame styles to fit easily into your current window trim. If your windows have no trim, we also have frame styles available to install right onto the drywall around your window to secure your stunning new shutters to your window opening.

Your Sunburst Shutters installation crew will measure each of your individual windows during your complimentary in-home consultation to ensure that your new shutters will fit seamlessly with your window trim.

Sunburst Shutters Boston is happy to provide a range of window coverings made right here in the U.S.A. Our top-selling Polywood plantation shutters are 100% American-made, from the creation of our patented Polywood material to the construction of the shutters themselves. Not only does that mean savings passed on to you from cutting unnecessary shipping and handling costs, it also gives you the benefit of knowing you’ve chosen an all-American shutter for your Boston house.

And it’s not just Polywood that’s from America. Our naturally beautiful Reclaimed Wood shutters are built with lumber repurposed from sources across the country, from rustic Midwest barn doors to sturdy Texas ranch fences and more.

The main difference between a shutter that’s stained or painted is the way the color interacts with the shutter material. Paint lays on top of the material it’s coloring, just coating the surface. Stains on the other hand permeate the shutter, becoming a part of the natural wood or faux wood material.

The two color options have their own unique benefits. There are often a larger number of color options for painted shutters. With stained shutters, the color doesn’t lie over the natural wood grain, so you’re able to see the random knots and ridges of the material without it being masked by a layer of paint.

When it comes time for your in-home shutter consultation, our team will bring paint and stain samples right to your door so you can easily color match with your existing interior design.

The complete plantation shutter process, from your starting consultation to installing the shutters, will take approximately four to six weeks. The reason it takes this long is because our goal is to build shutters that are completely customized to your windows. Doing that requires us to take precise measurements, use advanced software to design your shutters, assemble your brand-new shutters by hand, and get them to your home for installation. Shutters made from real wood typically take longer because of the added steps of staining and finishing the wood.

It will take some time, but it’s a wait that’s well worth it.

We sure do! We’d love to show you our showroom so you can see our entire collection of shutters and window treatments. Our office is at 51 Morgan Drive Unit #6, so feel free to visit anytime during our standard business hours to take a look for yourself.

We offer a total in-home shopping experience. We’ll send shutter expert to you to take precise measurements of your windows, walk you through your options, and provide a quote. The shutter consultation is totally free. That’s the best way to start your shutter project. If you’re just looking for a quick estimate, you can submit the measurements of your windows either by phone or through our contact form.

The answer will depend on your personal taste. If you want to keep your existing trim, we’re able to build your shutters to match your current trim. If you like our shutter frames better, then removing trim is fine—but it’s not a necessity. If you want to go without trim or replace your trim, we can help you choose the best option to match the vision you have in mind for your windows.

If you’re a seasoned handyperson, you might be familiar with what goes into a shutter installation. However, DIY shutters might be a tad complex for most Boston residents. Our suggestion is to leave the installation to our certified and insured professionals, so you won’t be at risk of damaging your shutters, your windows, or injuring yourself.

Far and away our most popular shutter offerings are our classic white Polywood® faux wood plantation shutters, and Ovation® wood shutters.

More specifically, the most popular shutter configuration we sell is a 3.5” louver, non-textured finish, with a Z-frame. If those words don’t mean anything to you, that’s ok. We’ll be happy to demonstrate what all those things mean in person. Schedule your free home consultation and we’ll help you figure out what would work best on your windows.

Shutters with a smooth finish have a more chic look, while shutters with a textured finish look a little more natural. But the perks to each style of plantation shutter finish go a little bit farther, and in the end come down to your own personal preference.

Perks of shutters with a smooth finish – A smooth finish to your shutters give you a solid, sleek, sophisticated look. If you don’t have any other wood surfaces like hardwood floors or furniture, you may not want a smooth finish. A smooth finish is easier to see when it needs dusting, in comparison with a textured finish. We typically recommend a smooth finish for faux wood shutters like Polywood.

Perks of shutters with a textured or wood grain finish – Shutters with a textured finish give you a more natural look in your home. That’s perfect if you want to bring the beauty of nature indoors, particularly if you want to match the look of your hardwood flooring. A wood grain on your shutters will also make it more difficult to see dust, which means you can wait a little longer between regular cleanings. A wood-grain finish looks especially great on real wood shutters in Boston.

Typically, the bigger your window is, the more shutter panels you’ll need. The optimal design is to use a single panel for windows up to 26 inches wide, two panels for windows up to 50 inches wide, and four for windows up to 98 inches wide.

Single wide panels aren’t as room-friendly as two separate panels. Oftentime, wide panel shutters can’t fit flush against the wall due to their size. Two smaller panels solve that issue.

For windows that you’ll open or shut often, you’re usually better suited with multiple panels, since they’re easier to open and get more support from the frame when you do operate them.

With Sunburst Shutters Boston, any and all measurements for shutters will be done by one of our installers for free as part of your in-home consultation. If you happen to have windows in a difficult to reach place in your home or you have windows with a distinct shape, our installers can get you an accurate measurement so that the final product will line up just right with the windows.

During your complimentary shutter consultation, your Sunburst Shutters rep will help you choose from our wide variety of Boston plantation shutters, including options for finish, stain colors, and custom framing options.

So set up your free consultation today by calling 781-352-2205 today.

Sunburst can assist you in picking the perfect shutter for your rooms, no matter how small your frame. We will use an outside mount installation that attaches to the trim or wall outside the window pane . Your window treatments will still have the same performance and energy efficiency, and will integrate seamlessly with your established decor.

If the louver is disconnected and hanging from the frame, you could have a busted louver pin. To repair this you should take out the pin from both the louver and the stile with some needle-nose pliers or a utility knife. Once everything is withdrawn, put the new pin base into the old hole in the shutter stile, then direct the louver onto the pin. To receive replacement louver pins at no cost, just call us at 781-352-2205.

The cost of plantation shutters hinges on the desired product line and window dimensions. While we can give you a projection over the phone, exact quotes are computed after our no cost in-person consultation. Call 781-352-2205 to make an appointment today.

To start, pull out the damaged staple out of the louver with a pair of needle-nose pliers. Then dab on some adhesive (like wood glue or epoxy) to cover the legs of a replacement staple. Thread the staple through the loop on the louver and direct its legs into the same staple holes on the tilt rod. For replacement shutter staples, call us at 781-352-2205.

Polywood shutters are seen as some of the safest window coverings in Boston. The durable, cord-free design is safe for pets and kids. The non-toxic and hypoallergenic paint and materials will never peel or chip. And since Polywood is pest and moisture resistant, you’ll never have to worry about mold, termites, or wood rot.